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| The bishops of Llandaff (left) and St Davids (right) with their TEC mentor Katharine Jefferts Schori Source: Twitter |
It came as no surprise that archbishop Barry Morgan described his chosen candidate, Canon Joanna Penberthy, as 'the best person to be a bishop' after she was elected bishop of St Davids.
Subsequent events have illustrated the irony of that description.
Likewise, Morgan's successor must rue the day when he welcomed the appointment as bishop of Llandaff of 'Pioneer English woman priest', June Osborne.
The then Church in Wales' senior bishop, John Davies said, “In June Osborne, both the Church in Wales and the Diocese of Llandaff will find themselves to be richly blessed. June’s track record admirably demonstrates her passion for Christian ministry modelled on the Gospel imperatives of love, justice, inclusivity and openness. All of these are qualities which I and my fellow bishops warmly support and welcome. She is known as a leader with clear vision, a pastoral heart and a strategic mind.”
In 2019 June Osborne's 'clear vision' led her to charter an aircraft to fly all active diocesan clergy to a clergy school in Santiago de Compostela during Christian Aid Week leaving others to get on with charitable work. Mercifully the plane did not ended up in the sea. Had it done so the diocese would have been left with a few retired clergy who could not afford to subsidise the cost of the flight or had better things to do than pay to go on one June's extravagant jollies.
June has also demonstrated her idea of love, justice, inclusivity and openness when she sacrificed faithful parishioners in another initiative.
From the Save St Teilo's - Save Our Community petition:
"In March 2019 the members of St Teilo’s church have been informed that a decision has been made by the Bishop of Llandaff, June Osborne, to give their church away to an evangelical church called Holy Trinity Brompton. The decision was made with no consultation with the clergy or members of the congregation and wider community and she says the decision is final."
I doubt that many of the St Teilo's congregation have found themselves to be richly blessed by their bishop but, then, her first love was sociology.
Featuring regularly of late in the columns of the Church Times and in the Western Mail there appears to be a never ending feud between the bishop of Llandaff and her dean which is constantly dragging the Church in Wales through the mire.
Another article in the Church Times today refers to alleged bullying and harassment by the bishop of Llandaff but, like her colleague in St Davids no doubt she will continue to regard any criticism of female behaviour as discrimination and carry on regardless.
Postscript [08.01 22]
For a devastating assessment of the current state of the dioceses of the Church in Wales and their diocesan bishops from across the pond go to Anglican Unscripted 709 starting at position 21.10.
Hubble,bubble,toil and trouble.
ReplyDeleteTwisted Sisters.
ReplyDeleteSad news of great unhappiness in a former Orthodox parish in the Diocese of Llandaff where -June made totally inappropriate appointments. Folk have voted with their feet.
ReplyDeletePlease elaborate in detail MO.
DeleteThe time for pussyfooting around in Llandaff is long gone.
Sorry 1662. I can't elaborate for reasons you would appreciate, I'm sure.
DeleteIn the current climate within the Diocese MO, the truth will emerge sooner or later, with or without your cryptic clues or assistance.
DeleteBut all credit to you. You called it first.
I wouldn't be surprised to read all about it in Friday's Church Times regardless of Merthyr Organist being somewhat cryptic about it.
DeleteOne only has to work one's way along the coast to realise that MO is referring to Barrybados and the lesbian Caiaphas imported.
DeleteIf the pew sitters don't like it, tough.
DeleteLesbians in the Church in Wales?
DeleteWho'd have guessed?
Don't think for one moment that Caiaphas' "totally inappropriate appointments" aren't quite deliberate.
Placing the deviants in traditional Parishes is part of the great strategy to queer the Church in Wales.
Simples.
Of course.
DeleteOne Parish at a time.
Bit by bit.
Satan wins and his creatures rejoice.
May God help St. Mary's but in the meantime stop your giving.
If money is the root of all evil then strangle them by stopping the funds.
The person you are referring to is decent, kind, and gracious. She prints the names of the celebrants for the following week’s services on the newsletter to help traditionalists. She does not deserve the comments published above.
DeleteThe Observer
Merthyr Organist suggests otherwise.
Delete"great unhappiness".
Not to mention the deviant lifestyle "choices".
"Folk have voted with their feet".
DeleteSounds all too familiar.
Here's hoping they have voted with their cheque books too.
Money is just about the only thing the plank sitters understand.
The name ‘Merthyr Organist’ suggests the author does not live in Barry, but is reporting second hand gossip. As for ‘deviant lifestyle choices’, conservative male Anglo-Catholic priests have never been known to make those!
DeleteThe Observer
One wonders if Merthyr Organist might previously have been living rather closer to Barrybados than he is now?
DeleteDon't do surveys
Observer. You miss the point. Useful and dedicated she may be, and admitting the deviancy of some male clergy, it remains the case that her 'lifestyle choice'is at odds with biblical teaching and the teaching of all other faiths too.
DeleteLW
Of course not, Observer.
DeleteNeither gender has a monopoly on hypocrisy or ungodly disorder.
Have the numbers attending St. Mary's dropped or not?
DeleteHave good folk voted with their feet or not?
If yes, when did it start and for what reason(s)?
Said parish is I suspect by the seaside!
ReplyDeleteRS
Oh! I do like to be beside the seaside !
DeleteThe only 'cleric' that can save Llandaff now is good old Father Time. 10th June 2023 will be a good day.
ReplyDeleteWHAMAB
PP. 10/06/23, yes indeed. But it could achieve an own goal, with Andy's translation following Bazza's example! Or, Jo in a checkmate move We get what we wish for, so caution must prevail. A strong Anglo-Catholic would be best option all round.
ReplyDelete10th June 2023 is the date to put in your dairies, friends. One year and (just less than) five months to go. Then we will speak of her in the past tense... as we assess the damage and pick up the casualties in the once great Diocese of Llandaff.
ReplyDeleteIf Llandaff Diocese was ever truly "great" there won't be many people left alive that saw it.
DeleteThe rot was certainly there in Glyn Simon's day and it's been steadily downhill ever since until the terminal decline of the --Bazza era.
The Misery Areas implemented by Caiaphas are a final act of desperation.
As long as the Capon is long gone before that date arrives!
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, I was not the person who mentioned deviant life style. I never question anyone's orientation. I mentioned -June's inappropriate appointment. Putting a female in charge of what was an orthodox parish was bound to result in what is happening there. Secondly, I am certainly not reporting gossip, I have friends in the parish with whom I keep in weekly contact.
ReplyDeleteIf merely being female was inappropriate and predictably going to cause problems, then putting a lesbian in charge of an Orthodox traditionalist Anglo Catholic Parish was therefore patently and obviously going to be at least twice as problematic.
DeleteReply to Merthyr Organist: you were not the poster who mentioned ‘deviant lifestyles.’ That was another poster who quoted you in the first half of his comment.
DeleteAs you have friends in Barry you will know that their unhappiness is not down to the ministry area leader.
It was inevitable that once the three Barry parishes were amalgamated women priests would be appointed sooner or later, because All Saints (which was never traditional Anglo Catholic) had already had two women curates. However, a male priest ordained by a male bishop was recently put in charge of St Mary’s and St Cadoc’s. He is not in the SSC mould, but it was unlikely that an SSC priest would have been appointed, as they are leaving for England, sadly.
Reply to Enoch: being single and having spoken in favour of same sex blessings does not make someone ‘a lesbian’, not that that is anything to be ashamed of.
The Observer
Are you having problems with your gender pronouns Observer?
DeleteAfter the top brass were wheeled out, last week, to pen a hymn of praise to the Bishop of Llandaff in the Church Times, I see a contrary view by the good parishioners of Llanishen appeared this morning. Which begs the question: are there too many spineless clergy in Llandaff; or has it been overwhelmed by Barry and une's sycophants?
ReplyDeleteAnd, apparently, the priest appointed to St Mary's and St Cadoc's has had complaints made against him, so much so that he has asked anyone who has a complaint, to address the complaint to him, rather than the M.A.L. I think, to be fair, he should be described as High Church rather than Catholic. He is also a self confessed LGBTWXZDA supporter and a feminist. I wish him well.
ReplyDeleteGossip.
DeleteRuthy
So says you.
DeleteWhich of the claims do you dispute this time?
Llandaff "gossip" has a peculiar habit of turning out to be true.
Hi, MO. I am that priest. As I said to my congregations, I'm always happy to receive feedback myself. My contact details are public on the Ministry Area site. God bless you all.
DeletePP. What seems so very odd in the recent posts and the ongoing saga is:
ReplyDelete1. No word from the Archbishop or His representative, or even action
2. No defense, from the Bishop whose Diocese seem in complete free fall.
3. The Aga saga, seems to go on. And no serious action.
4. Why hasn't the RB, done anything.
5. The whole Church apart from its laity and some we meaning clergy are completely hoping it will just go away, like a puff of smoke up the Dean's aga chimney!
6. It just can't get any worse, even Martin S is quiet for now. This blog and the CT seem the only sensible place to glean some of the truth.
It's not going away.
DeleteRandy Pandy is doing his best to mimic Pontius Pilate but that won't wash.
š¤£š¤£š¤£
The Church inWales is currently Blessed with a Bishop, who by her own sexual desires iswithin a relationship totally against allthe Teachings of The Bible, the very Book on Ordination she vowed to uphold. The Church in Wales is also Blessed with a Bishop who not only refusses to take her Husband's name but also insists on engaging in Politics and allieantes half of the Populous.We are also Blessed with a Bishop who has single handedly dismantelled a Diocese for their own needs. Thankfully we have a Shining Light in the Diocese of Swansea and Brecon,....at the moment
ReplyDeleteAnd the pr*ck in Bangor?
DeleteThe Church in Wales is certainly blessed.
DeleteOr more realistically, cursed.
Satan's imp in Llys Ego is dancing again tonight.
PP. Have we not noticed the silence, no procrastination, platitudes or even authority. Just game on as usual. Even the new bishop of S&B doesn't have an announced consecration date, or, Andy's placement in the Archiepiscopal Seat. Is the Llandaff saga, impacting on everything provincial?
ReplyDeleteBravo to the parishioners of Llanishen for your most eloquent letter to the Church Times. We wait with great anticipation the contributions to this debate in the Church Times from the clergy and parishioners of Roath St Margarets, St Edwards, Roath St German’s, Roath St Martin and Cathays St Michael. Surely the eminent parishioner of St Edward’s, His Worship the Learned Professor Norman Doe, Lord High Chancellor of the Diocese of Bangor and Chief Legal Advisor to the Archbishop of Wales, will be giving expert legal opinion as how these parishes and their clergy will function under Bishop June Jong Llandaff’s new Ministry Area regime?
ReplyDeleteLlanishen, the parish of a great Member who served the Central Office of the Representative Body of the Church in Wales for so long, do we now acknowledge the mistakes of all previous Holders of the Office of Archbishop? On the other hand do we remember our Friend who defended those roles?
DeleteHave I missed something, because it strikes me as strange that a priest who served the Diocese of Llandaff for nearly 35 with great distinction, as parish priest, Archbishops' Chaplain and Archdeacon, who has just retired as Vicar of Llanishen is given no more than a perfunctory one-liner on the Diocesan website. This level of ungraciousness simply adds fuel the unhealthy speculation that the Bishop is at war with her Diocese. Is no-one advising her? Or does she not accept advice from sources outside the USA?
DeleteAn excellent priest. Just for clarity almost 34 not 35.
DeleteLlechryd
Used, abused and discarded by a thoroughly disreputable and ungrateful employer.
DeleteJust as he did to the Cathedral Lay Clerks with the help of his chums Kirk, Masson and Peggy the Pilate.
What goes around comes around.
PP. How can you realistically put a diverse group of churches with their vastly different style of worship together? Sounds like the "sledgehammer" is a "Torre de Force"
ReplyDeleteAnyone seen today's Western Mail ? The chocolate teapot has decreed, No inquiry at Llandaff
ReplyDeleteQuelle surprise!
DeletePredictable and predicted.
Utterly spineless as usual.
A flurry of more letters in the Church Times this Friday then.